Jets Take Keyshawn; Phillips Slips To No. 6

Keyshawn Johnson, wearing an ankle-length, off-white coat and surrounded an entourage of 20, was the toast of New York, the first pick in the NFL draft Saturday.

It might have been Lawrence Phillips if not for his off-field troubles.

“I feel I’d have been the first pick if I had no problems, definitely,” the Nebraska running back said after being taken at No. 6 by the St. Louis Rams. “I feel I’m the best player in the draft, I think that by far. I think a lot of teams passed because they were afraid of the off-the-field situation, and that’s fine.”

Phillips’ no-contest plea to misdemeanor assault caused a couple of teams to back away from him, reshuffling the early selections in the draft. Instead of being predictable, this draft was deceptive.

The top teams did just what they said they wouldn’t do, particularly Jacksonville, Arizona and Baltimore, the teams with picks two, three and four.

It started straightforwardly enough, with the New York Jets using just 10 seconds of their allotted 15 minutes to select Johnson, the flamboyant wide receiver from Southern California. It was welcome news to a crowd that was chanting, “Keyshawn! Keyshawn! Keyshawn!” even before commissioner Paul Tagliabue officially opened the proceedings.

But then things got strange.

Jacksonville selected Illinois linebacker Kevin Hardy, who then drew faint praise from Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin. “He’s got to improve his quickness and some of his technique,” Coughlin said.

Arizona, which had wanted Hardy or offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden of UCLA, took Hardy’s pass-rushing teammate, Simeon Rice, a move that shocked even Rice.

“I had no communication with them prior to this,” he said.

And Baltimore, in its first draft since leaving Cleveland, took Ogden, although every indication was that they’d grab Phillips, perhaps even trade up for him.

“We had Ogden and Phillips there together,” said Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens’ director of player personnel. “It’s obvious who we thought was the better player.”

Better player or better citizen? Ogden, who scored nearly 1,200 on his SAT, won as much praise for his character as for his blocking skills. But Phillips didn’t have long to wait.

The New York Giants, who thought they’d get Rice, Hardy or Ogden, settled for Oklahoma defensive end Cedric Jones at No. 5 rather than add another running back to an already stocked position. It was the first time in a decade the Giants had taken a defensive player in the first round.

Finally, Phillips went to the Rams, who had obtained the sixth pick when they shipped defensive lineman Sean Gilbert to Washington. Unlike some other teams, the Rams weren’t scared off by Phillips’ offfield problems.

“He’s probably been through as much scrutiny as a presidential candidate in the last month leading up to the draft,” coach Rich Brooks said.

New England, which might have taken Jones, went instead for Terry Glenn, the wide receiver from Ohio State, at No. 7. That conformed to the wishes of owner Robert Kraft rather than those of defensive-minded coach Bill Parcells and gave Drew Bledsoe the first deep threat he’s ever had.

Carolina went for Tim Biakabutuka, the Michigan running back, and Oakland dealt up to grab another Ohio State player, tight end Rickey Dudley, with the ninth pick.

Then came four predictable choices - Auburn offensive tackle Willie Anderson to Cincinnati at No. 10, Oregon cornerback Alex Molden to New Orleans at No. 11, California defensive end Regan Upshaw to Tampa Bay at 12 and Mississippi State cornerback Walt Harris to Chicago, which traded with the Rams for the 13th pick.

Then Houston traded back up and took Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, the third Ohio State player in the top 14. The Oilers sent defensive Glenn Montgomery and the 17th pick to Seattle for that right.

Denver ended the first half of the round by taking Kutztown linebacker John Mobley, a relatively unknown Div. II player who bloomed in all-star games and the scouting combine.

Minnesota grabbed defensive end Duane Clemons of California at No. 16. Detroit traded for the 17th pick and selected Texas A&M linebacker Reggie Brown. Two wide receivers followed - Eddie Kennison of LSU to St. Louis and Marvin Harrison of Syracuse to Indianapolis.

Then Jimmy Johnson made his first pick for Miami - no trades this time - and took Daryl Gardener, a defensive linemen from Baylor. Gardener is a classic Johnson pick - an awesome physical talent who’s rarely shown it on the field.

Johnson did make two later trades, one with Dallas to obtain second- and third-round picks, and a second to trade them away to Jacksonville. It was typical of the kind of moves he made in Dallas.

Seattle took offensive linemen Pete Kendall of Boston College at No. 21, Tampa Bay chose defensive tackle Marcus Jones of North Carolina, and Detroit chose offensive lineman Jeff Hartings of Penn State.

At No. 24, Buffalo selected Mississippi State wide receiver Eric Moulds, Philadelphia took offensive tackle Jermane Mayberry of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Baltimore chose linebacker Ray Lewis of Miami at No. 26.

Green Bay chose offensive tackle John Michels of Southern Cal, Kansas City took defensive back Jerome Woods of Memphis with the 28th pick and Pittsburgh went for Jamain Stephens, an offensive tackle from North Carolina A&T.

Washington closed the first round by taking Penn State offensive tackle Andre Johnson with the 30th pick it got from Dallas.

The first round was split relatively evenly - 17 offensive players, including eight linemen, and 13 defensive players, six of them linemen. For the first time since 1988, no quarterback was taken in the round, not a surprise.

The first quarterback taken was Michigan State’s Tony Banks, by the Rams with the 42nd overall pick in the second round.

There also were some rarities.

Johnson, often compared to Michael Irvin, was the first wide receiver to go with the first pick since Irving Fryar was chosen by New England in 1984 and only the fifth in the 63-year history of the draft.

Johnson compared himself to Irvin, Jerry Rice and Herman Moore.

“I hope to be like Jerry-Michael-Herman, all three of them put together,” Johnson said.

Hardy and Rice, at two and three, marked the first time since 1984 that two college teammates had gone back-to-back that high. That’s when Fryar and Dean Steinkuhler, both of Nebraska, were 1-2.